The Minor Gods Read with Some Primordial Gods
by KronosTitanlord
Summary: Reading the Lightning Thief, with all Minor Gods and 4 Primeval Beings see what happens
1. Chapter 1

***On Olympus***

"DEIMOS!" Phobos shouted, chasing his brother

"IVE GOT YOUR SPEAR, IVE GOT YOUR SPEAR, IVE GOT-"Deimos taunted as he ran faster than his brother until he ran into something large and muscular

"owww WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR….." He looked up and it was his father Ares

"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE BOY!" He snarled at his, and Phobos finally caught up to him and took his spear

that Deimos stole from him. Then he looked at Ares

"Father" he said with a calm voice

"What the hades is going on with you two" he asked in an irritated voice

" this stupid ass* he smacked Deimos in the back of his head* thought it would be funny to steal my prized golden spear forged by Uncle Hephie"

Ares grumbled at the mention of his he grabbed Phobos' spear and broke it in half and made it dissolve, that enraged Phobos, so he got in his dad's face.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT"

"So you bitchfaces wont cause anymore ruckus when me and your mother are as that mortal Marvin Gaye calls it ''getting it on'' Deimos and Phobos gripped their stomachs

"TMI DAD DAMN IT I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT" and with that Deimos along with Phobos ran to the Minor Gods Courtyard.

Harmonia spots them and runs to them with a grin

"hey brothers, why do you guys look so glum?" she asked

"Dads being a little bitch again" a growl could be heard in the distance

"Why what happened"

" Well i…."

He was cut off by 4 bright lights appearing out of nowhere, and when the lights went away 4 powerful figures stood in the Courtyard, attracting the other Minor gods to come and see what was happening. One of them finally spoke.

"Greetings Minor Gods, we come to you in a peaceful state, and we have Books given to us by the Fates, that have decreed that we must read them together so gather all Minor Gods to the Courtyard.

Within seconds every Minor God on Olympus was present

Suddenly the Minor Gods all wondered what was going on

" What is going on" Eros said annoyed

"I was in the middle of making a Potion!" Hecate Complained

"I was busy screwing up that Slut Tyche's Day" Nemesis laughed out

Tyche just glared at her

"I was watching a soccer match deciding who should win" Nike stated

"I had nothing better to do since its night so its cool'' Eos stated

"I hope we get through quick, I want to keep an eye on them" Iris said

Then an icy presence filled the Air and a black shadow came and surrounded the Minor Gods and the 4 people. And then it retracted and made a form of a woman, starting with her face a paleish face with some scars, eyes like a dragons* yellow pupils and red eyes*, a black Soviet army Winter Coat, with Leather pants and boots on, and black as night hair with a Smile like a Horror villains…Eris Goddess of Discord.

"So I hear a gathering is taking place…..very interesting" she said in a Deep booming rock scraping metal voice that made everyone except Nemesis' spine chill

"yes..yes we are hear to read the books about a Young boy that saved Olympus"

Eris Purred as a suspicious smile came on her face

"Is that right" she said with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open revealing sharp teeth as she smiles deviously with her mouth open.

"Okay we will continue with names later, now we shall introduce outselves" pointing to her and the others

"I am Nyx, Goddess of Night ,Mother to Eris & Nemesis" said goddess smirked

"I am Phanes, God of Apperance" Everyone gasped " That's right I can teleport you anywhere, anytime so be careful what you say to me"

"I am Erebus-"

"You mean like that Mountain city in the Movie the Hobbit?" Phobos stated interrupting him

Erebus fumed then breathed

"No that's EREBOR!,not Erebus, know the difference"

Everyone was silent at the Erebus' sudden outburst

"As I was saying, I am Erebus*Glaring at Phobos* God of Darkness

"And I am Chronos, The God of Eternal Time* noticing the looks of hatred from the Minor Gods thinking he is the Titan he clears it up saying* I am not the Titan Kronos, I am the Primordial Chronos with a H between the C and R"

"Okay now shall we begin? Who wants to read?"

"I do Mother" Nemesis said

"oh look the Bitch can read"Tyche stated igniting a laugh among the MG's (im gonna call them that from time to time)

Nemesis glared at her

"At least I don't give out fortune to people who don't deserve it you Trampy Whore!"Nemesis

"Oh calling me a whore are you fuckface, well ill have you know Luck is what makes people take chances and without me the world wouldn't be balanced" Tyche said

"You know now that you mention it Nemesis isn't necessary, cause me and Tyche are balancers, because when I bring bad Juju upon people she gives them good things, so technically you aren't Necessary" Defending Tyche who looked surprised that the Goddess of Discord defended her.

"OKAY LETS READ!"Nyx outbursted

'

**I accidently vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**

**Look I Didn't Want to be a Half Blood.**

"They never do" Harmonia stated, feeling sad about what her children have/had to go through

**If your reading this because you think you might be one, my Advice is close this book Immediately, and believe whatever lie your mom or dad tells you about birth,and try to lead a normal life.**

"HA! Good luck" Nemesis said laughing at Tyche's expression of Anger

"You're a Slag Nemie" she smirked at Nemesis' glare at being called Nemie

**Being a Half-Blood is dangerous**

The Minor Gods looked down, all having children and putting them through such Hell living with monsters attacking them instantly.

"Now now MG's, its not all bad, at least we get to read about someone who made a difference and requested all of you get recognition" Nyx stated

"How on earth did you know that" Eos stated

"Because I can see all things that happen on earth, just another perk of my job" Nyx said while giggling silently and Nemesis along with her Mother

**Its scary**

**Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways**

**If you're a normal kid reading this because you think its fiction,great I envy you to keep believing that none of this ever happened.**

"Would that even work?" Phobos stated, not talking much since everyone gathered

"I don't think so" Morpheus said in confidence

"Why not? I mean if they don't know who they are then chances are the monsters will ignore them" Deimos said being helpful for once

"Because, monsters would come for them eventually, when they get older their scent becomes stronger." Iris said

"wow Iris, who knew you could be so knowledgable" Hebe said while filing her fingernails

Iris looked insulted

"I'll have you know, im much more smarter than I appear to be " she stated in confidence

**But if you recognize yourself in these Pages-if you feel something stirring inside of you-stop reading immediately-you might be one of us, and once you know that it wont be long before they come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you**

**My name is Percy Jackson**

Eris perked up at the name and smiled, if any demigod was cool in her book it was him, he was definetly a Warrior worthy of Godhood

**Im twelve years a few months ago,I was at a boarding school called Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

**Yeah,you could say that**

**Mr Brunner was this middle aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

'sounds familiar' Phanes thought

"Sounds like Chiron" Erebus stated

Every MG stared at him

"What! Just because my domain in the Underworld I cant know things humph!" Erebus grumbled

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class/he also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

**I hoped the trip would be least, I hoped for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

**Boy,was I wrong.**

**See,bad things happen to me on field my fifth-grade school,when we went to the Saratoga battlefield,I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon.I wasn't aiming for the school bus,but of course I got expelled anyway.**

Eris, Deimos & Phobos all laughed hysterically

"this kid sounds like a friggin protegy of Destruction…AWESOME!" Deimos said

"Yeah, if only I was his mother, I could of taught him so many ways of Discord he would probably go crazy just thinking about it" Eris stated happily

"I sure hope I get to meet this kid we aren't even through halfway of the first chapter and already sounds action packed" Phobos said between breaths

**And before that,at my fourth-grade school,when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our whole class took an unplanned swim.**

**And the time before that… well you get the idea.**

Eris, Deimos & Phobos all Groaned in disappointment, but then regained composure as a certain Goddess of Night sent an unfriendly glare their way.

**This trip, was determined to be good**

**All the way into the city,I put up with Nancy Bobofit,the freckly,redheaded kleptomaniac girl,hitting my best friend grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

Most of the Goddesses gagged, some raced to the nearest bush to puke ( Didn't go unnoticed by a certain Goddess of Agriculture).

All the Gods have weird looks on their faces like What-the-hades?

**Grover was an easy was cried when he got must've been held back several grades,because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his top of all that,he was crippled.**

"I doubt he will like that description" Hebe said

"Eh, he'll probably just shrug it off, I mean that's what I'd do if it was me, no big thing" Morpheus said

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his walked funny,like every step hurt him,but don't let that fool should of seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"He must really love enchiladas, if he does that" Nike said, Tyche agreed

**Anyway,Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair,and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on headmaster threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad,embarrassing or even mildy entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Well that's no fun, now is it" Deimos sarcastically said

**''Im going to Kill her, I mumbled**

"Hades yeah do it! Do it! Do it!*the others join in along with them*

"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNCEEEEEE" Phanes roars out to the MG's

Everybody looked at him weird

"enough of that foolish chanting its only a book nothing more, nothing less, now if you wanted to fight somebody for real, go to the Arena for that *looks to Ares Twin sons* Deimos, Phobos would you like to do that?"

They looked at eachother and smiled

"HADES YEAH!"

They took off Sprinting to the Arena with Eris not far behind wanting to watch a bloodshed

**Gro****ver dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**''That's it.'' I started to get up,but grover pulled me back to my seat**

**grover tried to calm me down.''its okay I like peanut butter.''**

**''Your already on probation,''he reminded me.''You know who'll get blamed if anything happens.''**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour**

**He rode up front in his wheel chair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries,past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff has survived for two thousand , three thousand years.**

''Way older than that Boy,*ponders something* that reminds me, how old are we?"

The MG's thought about this and all at once yelled out randomly at a time

"I was born born before the Titan War"

"my mother told me I was born a couple hundred years before the Trojan War"

"How should I know, I was just a little girl pushed out of my mother's Big flower opening"

"I was born in the Ocean to my Parents in the Depths"

"I was born from Darkness"

Finally they stopped bickering and talking and paid attention again after a scary noise filled the Air, the sound of a bull being strangled by a bear and vise versa, tearing into eachothers skin Bellowing.

"What in Tartarus was that?"

"That my dear is the sound of what happened between two sacred Animals of Hermes once upon a time"Nyx said fed up with the constent interruptions.

"in other words keep your Godly mouths shut!" Erebus snapped at them

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top,and started telling us how it was a grave marker,a stele,for a girl about our told us about the carvings on the sides.I was trying to listen to what he had to say,because it was kind of interesting,but everybody around me was talking,and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone,Mrs Doodds,would give me the evil eye.**

"Wouldn't want to have her on my back" Hypnos said yawning

"When did you get here?" Hebe asked

"Ive always been here, just took a nap in the back crowd" he said yawning louder

**was little little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket,even though she was fifty years looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker.**

" sounds hardcore…..like me" Nemesis said

Tyche just rolled her eyes

**She had come to Yancy halfway through the year when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

**From her first day, loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil would point her crooked finger at me and say, ''now,honey''real sweet,and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time,after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight,I told Grover I didn't think was looked at me,real serious,and said,''You're Absolutely right''**

**kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele-**

**And I turned around and said,''Will you shut up?''**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

**The whole group laughed. stopped his story. '' ,''he said, ''Did you have a comment?''**

**My face was totally red. I said, ''No, sir''**

**pointed to one of the pictures on the stele.''Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?''**

**I looked at the carving,and felt a flush of relief,because I actually recognized it. '' That's Kronos eating his kids, right?''**

**''Yes,'' said,Obviously not satisfied.''and he did this because …''**

**''Well…'' I racked my brain to remember. ''Kronos was king god, and-''**

Everyone screamed out: WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!

"that little insect of a demigod has the nerve to compare our King to the Petty Powerless former King Titan!" Morpheus said

"That little runt, better hope Zeus doesn't find out" Nemesis said

"He made a mistake, im sure the teacher will correct him" Tyche said

"Shit the fuck up you insignificant whore!" Nemesis sneered

"Screw you bitch! At least I don't look like a Man in drag who joined a biker gang" Tyche said

Nemesis went over to Tyche and slapped her, grabbing her by the hair dragging her into her cabin and slamming the door

"Well that was interesting"Nike stated

Hard slaps against Tyches face are heard and Screams and Furniture being dismantled

Nyx signaled to continue reading

**''God?'' asked?.**

**''Titan,'' I corrected myself. ''And … he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus,**

**And gave Kronos a rock to eat later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad,Kronos into barfing up his brothers and sisters-''**

"ewwww gross!" Hebe exclaimed

**''Eeew!'' said one of the girls behind me.**

Hebe blushed

**''-and so there this big fight between the gods and titans,'' I continued '' and the gods won''**

"He just summed up the Biggest War against the Titans in just a sentence, that deserves to be in the Olympian Books of Records" Eros stated

**Some snickers from the group.**

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend,''like were going to use this in real its going to say on our job applications, 'explain why Kronos ate his kids' ''**

**''and why Mr,Jackson,''Brunner said''to Paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question,does this matter in real life?''**

**''Busted.'' Grover muttered**

**''Shut up,'' Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, .Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything had radar ears.**

**I thought about his question,and I shrugged.''I don't know sir.''**

**''I see.'' looked disappointed.''well,half credit, .Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine,which made him disgorge his other five children,who,of course,being Immortal gods,had been been living and growing up completely undigested in the titans gods defeated their father,sliced him to pieces with his own Scythe,and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the that happy note,its time for .Dodds,would you lead us back outside?''**

Laughter erupted from outside the courtyard ,and everyone turned to see Deimos covered in blood as well as Phobos, with Eris Lagging behind.

Nyx stood up and faced them

"What! Is so funny?"

"Oh we just saw Hera be electrocuted by Zeus in the Window curtain of their Bedroom" Phobos said.

Giggled were let out throughout the crowd

"Sit and listen to the story."Nyx said patient and calm

A Groan was heard when Nemesis had Tyche in a headlock, Tyche had her clothes ripped, Neck cut, face bruised.

"Everyone this is what happens when you mess with me!"

Nemesis took Tyches head and turned it sideways and it let out a painful crack, and Tyche screamed in pain for a sec before Nemesis punched her KO'ing her.

"Now where were we" Nemesis said casually

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing eachother around and acting like doofuses.**

**Grover and I were about to follow when said,'' ''**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep I turned toward . ''Sir?''**

**had this look that wouldn't let you go- intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything,**

**''You must learn the answer to my question,'' told me**

**''About the Titans?''**

**''About real how your studies apply to it''**

**''Oh.''**

**''what you learn from me,'' he said ''is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.''**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

**I mean sure,it was kind of cool on tournament days,when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted:''What ho!'' and challenged us,sword point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who ever lived,amd their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Hypnos Screamed out, then went back to sleep, making others snicker at his outburst

**But expected me to be as good as everybody else,despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made about a C- in my life No-didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

**I mumbled something about trying harder,while took one long sad look at the stele,like he'd been at this girls funeral.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something,because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas.**

**We'd had massive snow storms,flooding,wildfires from lightning strikes,I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Looks like Zeusy Peusy is mad at Poseidon Woseidon" Harmonia Mockingly Cooed

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away form the others. We thought that maybe if we did that,everybody wouldn't know we were from that school –the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere**

**"Detention?'' Grover asked**

**"Nah" I said. "Not from Mr. Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean im not a genious."**

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said."Can I have our apple?"**

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me,**

**But she'd be disappointed too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

**parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ate celery while reading a paperback novel.a red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair,making it look like a motorized café table.**

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends- I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from tourists-and dumped her half eaten lunch in Grovers lap.**

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange,as if somebody sprayed her face with liquid cheetos.**

**I tried to stay school counselor had told me a million times," count to ten, control your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A Wave roared in my ears.**

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew,Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"**

**"-the water-"**

**"-like it grabbed her-"**

"And now we all know who's parent he is" Nike stated proudly

**I didn't know what they were talking I knew what that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as was sure poor Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the Museum gift shop,etc.,etc., turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eye, as if id done something she'd been waiting for all semester."Now, Honey-"**

**"I know," I grumbled. " A month erasing workbooks."**

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

**"Come with me." said.**

**"Wait!." Grover yelped. " It was me. I pushed her."**

**I stared at him,stunned.I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, ." she said**

**"But-"**

**"You-will-stay-here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"its okay, man" I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," barked at me. "Now."**

"Sheesh, someone's in a hurry to get a mcflurry" Aeolus suddenly popped in quiet as a mouse

"what are you talking about?" Asclepius agitated with the suprising entrances

"None of your business, Booty Beard" Aeolus stated

Laughs roared in the Yard until Zeus threw a lightning bolt in the center as a warning to be quieter.

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

**Then I turned to face , but she wasn't was standing at the museum entrance,way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have my moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, As if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after**

**Halfway up the steps,I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and ,like he wanted to noticed what was going on, but was absorbed in his novel.**

**I looked back .Dodds had disappeared again .She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's gonna make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

"Never works out that way" Urania said Starling people, cause she like many others had been so quiet.

**I followed her deeper into the I finally caught up to her,we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty**

**Mrs,Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. it's weird being alone with a teacher, especially . Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…**

**''you've been giving us problems honey," she said**

**I did the safe thing. I said,"yes, Ma'am."**

**She tugged on her cuffs of her leather jacket."Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me**

**I said,"I'll-I'll try harder,ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building**

**'We are not fools Percy Jackson," said."It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about**

**All I could think was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on tom sawyer from the internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take my grade worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

**"Well?" she demanded**

**"Ma'am,I don't…"**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. she was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

**Then things got even stranger.**

**,who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before,wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho,percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**lunged at me**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a 's bronze sword,which he always used on tournament day.**

**spun towards me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

Groaned were heard all throughout the crowd

"First rule of Battle, Never ever look weak or drop your sword" Deimos, Eris, and Phobos all said at the same time. Then laughed

"Well which is it?" Harmonia asked

"What?" Phobos countered

"is the first rule Never look weak or drop the sword?" Harmonia stated clear

"Eh…uh….Deimos you wanna take this one?" Phobos asked

"Nah you got it, plus its funny watching you try to come up with explainations hahahha" Deimos laughed hysterically

Phobos glared

"Its never drop your sword, Weakness can be part B"

**She snarled, "die honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

**was a sand castle in a power exploded into yellow powder,Vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing eyes were still watching me.**

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand**

**wasn't was there but me**

**My hands were still lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his Bobofit was still standing there,soaked from her swim in the fountain,grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope whipped your butt."**

Everyone said: Who?

**I said, " Who?"**

Everyone bursted out laughing

**"Our math teacher, duh! !"**

**I had no teacher named .I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolling her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where was.**

**He said,"Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

**"Not funny, man" I told him."This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead**

"I don't know why it does that, like does Zeus do that on purpose or is weather his Emotions?"Morpheus stated

'If that was any of your business Morpheus, I would tell you but its not so BACK OFF!' Zeus yelled in his mind

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him**

**He looked up, a little distracted."Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen.I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly." Who ?"**

**" The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-Algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"**

"Chapter one done, finally" Nike said as she took the book and started reading but she was interrupted.

"Hold on, Lets take a Break for a while, do whatever you need to do and be back in 3 hours" Nyx said before going into the Olympian Galley to get snacks

Everyone disbanded except Nemesis and Tyche

Nemesis leaned into her, opened her mouth and spit into it, while she was still KO's

"Karma's a bitch, just like you" then she threw her unconscious body into the fountain and went off.


	2. Break

Deimos Phobos & Eris

"HHAHAHAHAHAH OH MAN THAT FUCKING KID IS EXCITING!" Deimos said

"Hell yeah, hell he might even be one of my kids" Phobos said

"Or one of mine " Eris said scaring them while she smirked

Nike, Tyche, & Iris

"oh dear, Tyche!" she raced over to get her friend out of the fountain

"I….AM..GOING…TO…..KILL…THAT BITCH!" Tyche Screamed

"Calm down sweety, it will be alright gather yourself together before you make any hasty decisions" Iris said calmly.

Tyche nodded grudgingly

Asclepius & Aeolus

"You know I don't appreciate how you disrespected me back there!" Asclepius stated pointing accusingly at Aeolus

" Well by the way you warmed my welcome, I don't think I was in the wrong for insulting you" Aeolus stated before he sneezed, and blew Asclepius right into the gates of the Olympians.

Morpheus & Hypnos

"Hey * yawns* dad" Morpheus said looking like hes gonna conk any minute

Hypnos mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'hi son'

Harmonia & Eos

"Hows it going Eos" Harmonia asked her sister

"Could be better, if those fools *pointing at Deimos and Phobos* would stop interrupting our reading" Eos responded

"mmm, I know what you mean, they can be such P.I.T.A s sometimes" she sighed knowing how annoying her brother can be

Nemesis

Well I think, my sister wll never make that mistake of calling me out in front of everybody again *she bellowed in Victory.

"Okay Minor Gods! Gather , we shall continue Reading" Nyx broadcasted to everyone

Everyone gathered

"Who wants to read"

"I will" Phanes reached for the book

**Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**


	3. Chapter 3

Phanes read

**Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**

Phobos snorted "what the hades" he rolled on the floor laughing,Deimos kicked him to get up**,** which he grudgingly oblidged to.

**Campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr - a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip - had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.******

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.******

**It got so I almost believed them - Mrs. Dodds had never existed.******

**Almost.******

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.******

**Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.******

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.******

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the****windows in****my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the HudsonValley touched down only fifty miles from YancyAcademy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"I wonder whats got the Sea and sky gods so angry?" Harmonia asked, while Eris had a look of twazzlement on her face.

****

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.******

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.******

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.******

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.******

**I was homesick.**

"awww poor dear" Eos said soothingly

" he misses his Mother" Harmonia said sadly, since she has kids that she cant see but wants to.

The Gods present all agreed as well.

****

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.******

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.******

**I'd miss Latin class, too - Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.******

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"That's a good thing, keep that train of thought, monsters just might ignore you" Morpheus said dribbling drool from his mouth**  
**

"Unlikely. Morpheus" Hebe rolled her eyes at him**  
****The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.******

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.******

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.******

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.******

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave YancyAcademy with him thinking I hadn't tried.******

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.******

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... worried about Percy, sir."******

**I froze.******

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.****  
**

"Challenge Accepted" Deimos & Phobos declared

Harmonia rolled her eyes at them**  
****I inched closer.******

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too - "******

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."******

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline - "**

"Whats gonna happen at the Solstice?" Nike asked

I don't know, let me read and we will find out" Phanes retorted having a nerve pinched  
**  
****"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."******

**"Sir, he saw her... ."******

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."******

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."******

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall - "******

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"Awwwww boy, you never give your position away" Phobos cried out

Nemesis smacked him in the head, then as she was going back to her spot he grabbed her.

"DON' .HIT ME AGAIN" He said in a Dangerous low voice while glaring at her with his glowing red eyes.

Nemesis nodded and went back to her seat****

**Mr. Brunner went silent.******

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.******

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"Chiron? Why is he in his true form in the plain sight of Mortals?" Iris asked

"Who knows, maybe he was confident enough that the mist as strong enough as to protect his real form from Mortal eyes" Nike stated

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

"That's good, Trancle out of the Situation ASAP in a crisis, such as this" Deimos said matter of factly

Everybody looked at him like he threw up on the Queen of the Gods

"What? Its just good advice, what else can he do in a situation, cause I doubt he would have any time to think of something without being caught" he stated clearing up his previous statement

"What the hell does Trancel mean?" Aeolus asked while levitating in the air

"Trancel: to escape or hide, with complete and utter discretion, without leaving a single trace of evidence that you were there." Deimos stated

Everyones jaws dropped ' Deimos knows something' most people thought cause he mainly likes to fight  
**  
****A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.******

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.******

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."******

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."******

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."******

**"Don't remind me."**

Everybody snorted****

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.******

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.******

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.******

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"******

**I didn't answer.******

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"******

**"Just... tired."******

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.******

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.******

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.******

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

" Uh oh, here commmmes the talk!" Phobos said in a Wolowitzy kind of voice ( Big bang theory is my s-hit!)  
**  
****For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.******

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."******

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.******

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."******

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Chiron, your only gonna make him feel bad about himself, you have to ease into don't rush" Nike scolded book Chiron

Most of everybody agreed  
**  
****My eyes stung.****  
**

The Goddesses aw'd and the gods were snickering**  
**

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.******

**"Right," I said, trembling.******

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be - "******

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."******

**"Percy - "******

**But I was already gone.****  
**

"DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN!" Deimos and Phobos shouted, startling everyone**  
**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.******

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.******

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.******

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.******

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."******

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.******

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.******

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.******

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.******

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"****  
**

"Probably scared the crap out his ass" Asclepius said making everyone laugh at the Pun, which he unfortunetly didn't realize it.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha - what do you mean?"**

"Told ya!" he said smiling victoriously

"No one disagreed with you crap face" Aeolus said annoyed with Asclepius and his stupid ways of life 

Asclepius glared at the King of the Wind, who just smiled and glared at the same time at him 

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.******

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"******

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"******

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."******

**"Grover - "******

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."******

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."******

**His ears turned pink.******

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.******

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:******

**Grover Underwood******

**Keeper******

**Half-Blood Hill******

**Long Island, New York******

**(800) 009-0009**

" Why is it like that?" Eos asked

"Because Fatty McGrapes likes watching demigods struggle with pronouncing it" Morpheus said

At Camp Half Blood

Dionysus' eyes flared when he heard Morpheus' Nickname for him****

**"What's Half - "******

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."******

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

******"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."******

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."******

**"Why would I need you?"******

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.******

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I - I kind of have to protect you."******

**I stared at him.******

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.******

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"******

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

"Oh man, those things fucking stink! I almost passed the fuck out when one the Dryads left one by my window sill as a prank." Deimos stated cringing at the smell**.**

**The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.******

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.******

**We were on a stretch of country road - no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.******

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Everyone's eye were widened

"He…..he….he….. saw… the….the…..FATES!" Harmonia screeched

"how is he still alive" Eris said while stunned like everyone else

****

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.******

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.******

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.******

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.******

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man - "******

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"******

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"******

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."******

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors - gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.******

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."******

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."******

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.******

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for - Sasquatch or Godzilla.******

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

Everyone let out breaths****

**The passengers cheered.******

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"******

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.******

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.******

**"Grover?"******

**"Yeah?"******

**"What are you not telling me?"**

"Everything" Tyche said

Nemesis rolled her eyes at her  
**  
****He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"******

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"******

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."******

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."******

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost - older.******

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."******

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.******

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."******

**"What last time?"******

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."******

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"******

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."******

**This seemed like a strange****request****to me, but I promised he could.******

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.******

**No answer.******

**"Grover - that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"******

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"And that's the end of the chapter everyone" Phanes said as he put the book down

"Who will Read next?" Nyx said calmly

"I will" an Icy presence said scaring every one


	4. Chapter 4

An Icy Presence filled the courtyard, all the MG's were scared crapless, and even the Primordials were a

little nervous because of who this God was.

"Welcome brother Tartarus" Nyx said nonchalantly

he grunted as a response and took the book from Phanes and started reading.

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the** **bus terminal.**

"Naughty boy, Naughty Naughty Naughty Naught-" Tyche sang

"OKAY WE GET IT HES NAUGHTY!" Hebe said annoyed with over use of the word.

"sheesh what crawled up your godly Vagina" Tyche retorted

The gods tried not to burst into laughter, while the goddesses shivered at that****

**I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be**** the sixth grade****?"******

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.******

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.******

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"Shes nice?" Eros said

"Good neighbor?" Helios said ( thought I forgot about him didn't ya lol)

"Craps in a bottle and sells it on Ebay to other people , cheating them out of their Drachmas?" Phobos blurted out loud

Everybody looked at Phobos**  
**

"what it happens…..sometimes….not saying ive done it or did it to someone else" Phobos said and constently looking in the crowd of MG's at Philotes who in turn Glared at him.**  
**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in ****plane crash**** she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

" That's so sad" Harmonia said almost to tears

" Yeah, I agree no one should be left of an Education" Nike said comforting her

"well as luck would have it (cue a snort from a certain Balance goddess) we could get her in a University so she could continue her career path" Tyche said glaring at Nemesis then smirked.**  
****  
****The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.******

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.******

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.******

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"mmmmm ok, not a lie but not the truth that's savvy is it not….eh?" Eros said looking through a Macy's catalog

"Very convincing , that shouldn't be a problem believing" Selene stated speaking for the first time.

****

**She worked odd jobs, took**** night classes**** to get her****High School diploma**** and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.******

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.******

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.******

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the****Living room****, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

The Goddesses looked appalled somebody could live like that.****

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."******

**"Where's my mom?"******

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

The Minor Gods looked outraged

"THAT FILTH JUST ASKED HIM FOR MONEY!" Harmonia yelled

"Filthy man, with no cleaning plan" Eos said disgusted as to how somebody could actually live in a palce that messy  
**  
****That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?******

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

The Goddesses gagged, and the Gods snorted****

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.****  
**

The Goddesses got outraged, once again

"He would dare put his hands on a child!" Selene screamed

"This man, by the sound of him has no moral and very little class" Morpheus said

"He better be going to the Fields of Punishment when he goes the way of the Crows" Eris said

"Maybe I could make his life truly unworthy living to make him want to be dead" Nemesis said with an evil smirk

******"I don't have any cash," I told him.******

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.******

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.******

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"******

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"Least one of them is decent, at the least" Nike said****

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.******

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.****  
**

"oh ewww" Iris shrieked out

"Nasty asses" Hebe said almost laughing

"Hope that kid, has some spray at the ready in his home" Deimos said

" why would he be carrying spray?" Tyche asked

"in case of sneak attacks, like they just did" Deimos retorted

Everyone laughed

******"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."******

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"******

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.******

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"ahhh, sarcasm whats not to like" Helios said ironically *wink wink*  
**  
****Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.******

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic - how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone - something - was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.******

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

Everyone bursted out laughing yet again

" he seriously thought his mother was a monster" Phobos said clutching his side

"it was probably, because he is still in a trance, and with Chiron and grover trying to keep him from realizing whats happening and that he is a Demigod" Hecate said

"PREACHED!" Eros yelled as he stood up with his arms out as if birds were supposed to fly in and sit on both arms

Everyone looked at him, eyebrows raised

"Eros, sit down" Harmonia said pulling her brother back to his seat  
**  
****She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.******

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"Strong woman, if she can do that, then she has a hell of a lot more patience than most who live here on Mt Olympus." Selene said

Everyone else agreed

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"******

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.****  
**

****"AWW LUCKY!" Deimos and Phobos complained

"you guys do know your gods, so you can make anything poof to you" Nyx said after being quiet for so long

Chronus and Erebus barely paid attention to the story unless their sister spoke out, then they sat up and were on their best behavior.

Phanes noticed them, and snorted quietly at their actions

Nyx snapped her fingers and everyone had tasty treats in front of them

Everyone munched on things for a few minutes then went back to listening to Tartarus read  
**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

Goddesses cooed****

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

"he really shouldn't hide his feelings from his mother" Nike stated

" yeah, I mean she is the one who he should be most comfortable with" Iris said****

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally - how about some bean dip, huh?"******

**I gritted my teeth.**

As did everyone else****

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.******

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at YancyAcademy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked YancyAcademy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.******

**Until that trip to the museum ...******

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"******

**"No, Mom."**

"HA! Liar" Morpheus and Aeolus said same time, they looked at eachother****

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."

My eyes widened. "Montauk?"

"Three nights - same cabin**."**

**"When?"**

She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."

I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"

"shove off! Loser" Deimos said****

I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.

"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."

Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"

"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."

"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."

Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"  


Eros shrieked, like his mother does

"THAT' .RIGHT!" He said horrified 

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."

"We'll be very careful."

Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."

Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.  


"DO IT DO IT DO IT" They all cheered even Phanes and Erebus

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."

Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.

"Yeah, whatever," he decided.

He went back to his game.

"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"

For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes - the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride - as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.

But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.

An hour later we were ready to leave.

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car.

"Fat lard doesn't help except when it involves food or sex" Eros said still ticked about Gabes comment about budgets

**He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking - and more important, his '78 Camaro - for the whole weekend.**

"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."

Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.

Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.

Everybody was laughing at this but Deimos and Phobos were laughing Hysterically

"This kid is somethin' special, and I think he would make a great General of the Olympian Legion.

"Hell yeah, but I do I still get the cookies?" Phobos stated

"Yes you still get the friggin cookies" Deimos said annoyed

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

I loved the place.

The Goddesses aww'd****

We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.

As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.

We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.

I guess I should explain the blue food.

See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This - along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano - was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.

When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk - my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.

"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."

"Poseidon does look like that" Thanatos said making everyone jump, forgetting he was in the crowd.

"you mean Percy looked exactly like Poseidon****

Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."

I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.

"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

"But... he knew me as a baby."

"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."

I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.

I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me ...

I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.

"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.

"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."

"Because you don't want me around?" I regretted the words as soon as they were out.

"At least he knows he did wrong" Nike said****

My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I - I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."

Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said - that it was best for me to leave Yancy.

"Because I'm not normal," I said.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought YancyAcademy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."

"Safe from what?"

"Quite a few Monsters from Hades and Tartarus" Morpheus said, though he regretted it as soon as the Abyss God Glared right at him with darkness and emptiness in his eyes along with scary visuals of Titans being tortured****

She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me - all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.

During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Before that - a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.  


"Like Heracles, damn this boy is strong, he beat a fury, a snake as a toddler, wow" Phobos stated"  
**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy - the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."

"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"

"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."

My head was spinning. Why would my dad - who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born - talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I - I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

"a feeling all of us know too well" Harmonia said with sadness In her voice

The minor gods agreed  
**  
"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

"You certainly do not want that" Iris said

"Nope, watching a mother cry is torture for your soul" Nike said remembering her spat with her mother****

That night I had a vivid dream.

It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

"KRONOS!" all minor gods screamed****

I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, No!

I woke with a start.

Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."

I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice - someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.

"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"

My mother looked at me in terror - not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.

"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"

I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on - and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...

My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"

I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"

Grover ran for the Camaro - but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.

Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.

"Done" Tartarus closed the book

"So brother what brung you up to Olympus" Nyx asked

" I heard some of my siblings were gathering so I wanted to join, plus I haven't gotten a good nights sleep ever since Zeus put those WRETCHED TITANS INTO MY DOMAIN!" Tartarus said 

Thunder shook Olympus

"well its nice of you to make way to join us" Nyx said

"Yeah, plus you guys are my favorite siblings and I much prefer being with guys, since you are Goddess of night, Tartarus is dark, Erebus is God of Shadows and Darkness, well my domain is darker *He smirked ar Erebus* , and Phanes and Chronus well they never cease to amuse me" he said

Nyx smiled at her brother then turned to the Minor gods

"so who will read next?"

'I will" Nike said


End file.
